WESTPAC: THE HOLY GRAIL OF TAX AVOIDANCE?

Transcription

1 WESTPAC: THE HOLY GRAIL OF TAX AVOIDANCE? Michael Alan Macdonald A dissertation submitted to Auckland University of Technology In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business (MBus) 2011 School of Business Primary Supervisor: Professor Chris Ohms

2 Table of Contents I. Attestation of Authorship... 4 II. Abstract... 5 III. Acknowledgements... 6 IV. Introduction... 7 V. Statutory Framework... 9 VI. The History of Tax Avoidance in New Zealand a. Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue i. Facts ii. Analysis b. After Elmiger c. Judicial History i. Mangin v Commissioner of Inland Revenue ii. Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Europa Oil (N.Z.) Ltd iii. Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Challenge Corporation Limited iv. O Neil & Ors v Commissioner of Inland Revenue v. Commissioner of Inland Revenue v BNZ Investments Limited vi. Peterson v Commissioner of Inland Revenue VII. Recent Tax Avoidance Cases a. Ben Nevis Forestry Ventures Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue i. Arrangement ii. Reconstruction b. Westpac Banking Corporation v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue i. Deductibility ii. Arrangement iii. Tax Avoided iv. More Than Merely Incidental v. Choice Doctrine vi. Reconstruction vii. Conclusion c. Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Penny and Hooper i. Arrangement ii. Purpose or Effect of the Arrangement iii. More Than Merely Incidental Purpose or effect of Tax Avoidance iv. Choice Doctrine v. Reconstruction vi. On Appeal d. Krukziener v Commissioner of Inland Revenue

3 i. Arrangement ii. Purpose and Effect of the Arrangement iii. More Than Merely Incidental Purpose or effect of Tax Avoidance iv. Choice Doctrine v. Reconstruction e. Was Elmiger Correctly Applied? VIII. Problems and Solutions a. Objectives of a Tax System b. Specific Provisions v Anti-avoidance Provisions c. Definition of Arrangement d. Scope of the Arrangement e. Purpose or Effect Test f. Parliamentary Contemplation g. Reconstruction h. Abusive Tax Position i. Promoter Penalties IX. Conclusion X. Bibliography a. Books b. Articles c. Cases d. Legislation e. Other Sources

4 I. Attestation of Authorship I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma or a university or other institution of higher learning.... Michael Macdonald 4

5 II. Abstract In this paper the writer looks to see whether the current anti-avoidance provisions are being correctly applied. It looks at the application of these provisions in light of the judgment of Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 1 since this was the approach promulgated by Dr A. M. Findlay when the rewrite of the income tax legislation was being enacted through the introduction of the Income Tax Act 1976 ( the ITA 1976 ). This determination will be made by analysing four of the recent major tax avoidance cases to see how the judiciary have come to their decisions. Particular focus will be given to the case of Westpac Banking Corporation v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue 2 as this is seen as the leading case involving tax avoidance in New Zealand given that Harrison J had the chance to reflect upon the decision of Ben Nevis Forestry Ventures Ltd v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 3 before releasing his judgment. Despite the best intentions of both Parliament and the judiciary it is considered that the anti-avoidance provisions and their application require modification in order to provide greater certainty going forward and greater strength to the provisions themselves. This is not to be achieved at the expense of tax benefits genuinely intended by Parliament. Much of the changes suggested in this paper requires action by Parliament in order for the anti-avoidance provisions to be rewritten so that greater certainty can be placed on the judicial approach to the provisions and that perceived weaknesses in the wording of the provisions and associated legislation can be addressed. 1 Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue (1966) NZLR 683 (SC) [Elmiger]. 2 Westpac Banking Corporation v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue (2009) 24 NZTC 23,834 (HC) [Westpac]. 3 Ben Nevis Forestry Ventures Ltd v Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2009] 2 NZLR 289 (SC) [Ben Nevis]. 5

6 III. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Chris Ohms for taking the time to be my supervisor during this process. Thanks is also given to Shobha Gautam for proofreading this paper. I would also like to thank Barry Macdonald for providing constant motivation while I was studying. Finally I would like to thank Guru Singh, Richard Phauv, Bruce Otway and Rakesh Gosai for their support during this time. 6

7 IV. Introduction Tax legislation, by its very nature, will always provide opportunities for tax avoidance. It is a complex piece of legislation that is designed to address the competing goals and needs of different sectors of society. On the one hand the Government wants to raise as much revenue as possible, but at the same time it has social policies, such as working for families, that need to be fulfilled. In an attempt to balance these competing needs structural inequalities arise within the legislation that enable tax benefits to be obtained in circumstances that were never intended by Parliament. To address these issues anti-avoidance provisions have been introduced into the legislation as a means to prevent the erosion of the tax base. This started with the introduction of section 62 of the Land Tax Act 1878 ( the LTA 1878 ) and has culminated in BG1 of the Income Tax Act 2007 ( the ITA 2007 ). The unfortunate side effect of the anti-avoidance provisions is that in order for them to be most effective they have to be broadly written so as to encompass all true tax avoidance arrangements. This leads to a situation where techniques of judicial interpretation must be applied. But that in itself can lead to debate amongst the judiciary. To overcome this, what appears, on the face of it, to be a robust framework has been developed to help analyse all potential tax avoidance arrangements. Westpac 4 has come near the end of a long line of tax avoidance cases that have been used as a basis for developing this framework and it is often cited as a leading case of tax avoidance in New Zealand. So has this case been able to provide a settled approach to the application of the anti-avoidance provisions? To address this question the paper will be divided into four broad areas: 1. The statutory framework by which tax avoidance is analysed 2. The history of how the framework came into being, including a brief analysis of the key cases that have influenced the evolution of the framework 4 Westpac banking Corporation v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n 2. 7

8 3. A detailed analysis of Westpac 5 and other current leading tax avoidance cases in order to show whether the framework is being correctly applied 4. Finally if it is determined that Westpac 6 has not provided a settled approach to tax avoidance an analysis of the framework and legislation will be undertaken in order to some potential solutions to the problems identified. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 8

9 V. Statutory Framework The current anti-avoidance provisions contained in section BG1 of the ITA 2007, simply provides that a tax avoidance arrangement is void as against the Commissioner for income tax purposes and that under Part G (Avoidance and non-market transactions), the Commissioner may counteract a tax advantage that a person has obtained from or under a tax avoidance arrangement. The term tax avoidance arrangement is contained in section YA1 of the ITA 2007 and is defined as:... an arrangement, whether entered into by the person affected by the arrangement or by another person, that directly or indirectly (a) has tax avoidance as its purpose or effect; or (b) has tax avoidance as 1 of its purposes or effects, whether or not any other purpose or effect is referable to ordinary business or family dealings, if the tax avoidance purpose or effect is not merely incidental. From the definition of the term tax avoidance arrangement it can be seen that are three key elements that must be determined before the Commissioner can apply the antiavoidance legislation. These elements are defined in section YA1 of the ITA 2007 and are as follows: 1. There must be an arrangement 2. The arrangement must involve tax avoidance as at least one of its purposes or effects 3. The tax avoidance purpose or effect has to be more than merely incidental The first element is that there must be an arrangement. An arrangement is defined to mean an agreement, contract, plan, or understanding, whether enforceable or unenforceable, including all steps and transactions by which it is carried into effect. The definition of this term was derived from the case of Newton v Federal Commissioners of Taxation 7 where Lord Denning stated that: Their Lordships are of the opinion that the word arrangement is apt to describe something less than a binding contract or agreement, something in the nature of an understanding between two or more persons a plan 7 Newton v Federal Commissioners of Taxation [1958] AC 450, at 465(PC) [Newton]. 9

10 arranged between them which may not be enforceable at law. But it must in this section comprehend, not only the initial plan but also all the transactions by which it is carried into effect all the transactions, that is, which have the effect of avoiding taxation, be they conveyances, transfers or anything else. This definition requires one to look to the effect of the arrangement in order to determine the extent of the arrangement. The second element requires that there be tax avoidance. Tax avoidance includes 8 : (a) directly or indirectly altering the incidence of any income tax: (b) directly or indirectly relieving a person from liability to pay income tax or from a potential or prospective liability to future income tax: (c) directly or indirectly avoiding, postponing, or reducing any liability to income tax or any potential or prospective liability to future income tax. The third element requires that one of the purposes or effects of the arrangement be tax avoidance, with that purpose or effect being more than merely incidental. The term purpose or effect was defined in the case of Newton 9 where Lord Denning stated that: The word purpose means, not motive, but the effect which it is sought to achieve the end in view. The word effect; means the end accomplished or achieved. The whole set of words denotes concerted action to an end the end of avoiding tax. While the tax avoidance purpose or effect does not have to be greater than 50% for the legislation to apply it does not mean that all transactions giving rise to a taxation benefit will be caught. Based on the decision of Woodhouse P in Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Challenge Corporation Limited 10 the term more than merely incidental was held to mean... something which is necessarily linked and without contrivance to some other purpose or effect so that it can be regarded as a natural concomitant. This means that when a transaction can be seen as part of ordinary business or family dealings and not as mechanism to avoid tax then section BG1 cannot apply. 8 Section YA 1 of the Income Tax Act Newton v Federal Commissioners of Taxation, above n Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Challenge Corporation Limited (1986) 8 NZTC 5,001, at 5,006 (CA) [Challenge Corporation]. 10

11 A fourth element, not defined in the legislation, was introduced by Lord Hoffmann in the decision he delivered in the case of O Neil & Ors v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 11. This was to be known as the Choice Doctrine. Under this principle one is required to analyse the arrangement entered into by the taxpayer to determine whether the tax benefit derived from that arrangement was obtained by the taxpayer in a manner that was intended by Parliament when the specific legislation was introduced. Further analysis and discussion on this case will be found later in this dissertation. In the second part of section BG1 of the ITA 2007 the Commissioner is given the discretion, in accordance with section Part G to counteract the tax advantage that was obtained by a taxpayer from a tax avoidance arrangement. The general power of reconstruction is contained in section GA1 12 of the ITA In the case of Miller v Commissioner of Inland Revenue; Managed Fashions Ltd and Ors v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 13 Blanchard J addresses the extent of the Commissioner s powers when it came to countering the tax advantage obtained. 11 O Neil & Ors v Commissioner of Inland Revenue (2001) 20 NZTC 17,051 (PC) [O Neil]. 12 The key components of GA1 of the ITA are: Commissioner s general power (2) The Commissioner may adjust the taxable income of a person affected by the arrangement in a way the Commissioner thinks appropriate, in order to counteract a tax advantage obtained by the person from or under the arrangement. Commissioner s specific power over tax credits (3) The Commissioner may (a) disallow some or all of a tax credit of a person affected by the arrangement; or (b) allow another person to benefit from some or all of the tax credit. Commissioner s identification of hypothetical situation (4) When applying subsections (2) and (3), the Commissioner may have regard to 1 or more of the amounts listed in subsection (5) which, in the Commissioner s opinion, had the arrangement not occurred, the person (a) would have had; or (b) would in all likelihood have had; or (c) might be expected to have had. Reconstructed amounts (5) The amounts referred to in subsection (4) are (a) an amount of income of the person: (b) an amount of deduction of the person: (c) an amount of tax loss of the person: (d) an amount of tax credit of the person. No double counting (6) When applying subsection (2), if the Commissioner includes an amount of income or deduction in calculating the taxable income of the person, it must not be included in calculating the taxable income of another person. Meaning of tax credit (7) In this section, tax credit means a reduction in the tax a person must pay because of (a) a credit allowed for a payment by the person of an amount of tax or of another item; or (b) another type of benefit. 13 Miller v Commissioner of Inland Revenue; Managed Fashions Ltd and Ors v Commissioner of Inland Revenue (1998) 18 NZTC 13,961, at 13,980 (CA) [Miller]. 11

12 Section 99(3) gives the Commissioner a wide re-constructive power. He may have regard to the income which the person he is assessing would have or might be expected to have or would in all likelihood have received but for the scheme, but the Commissioner is not inhibited from looking at the matter broadly and making an assessment on the basis of the benefit directly or indirectly received by the taxpayer in question. This requires that when the Commissioner is reconstructing the effect of a tax avoidance arrangement to look at the most likely hypothetical scenario as what would have happened if not for the arrangement 14. Reproduced below is a flowchart from an exposure draft issued by Inland Revenue in 2004 that summarises the process for applying sections BG1 and GB1 of the Income Tax Act 2004 ( the ITA 2004 ) Inland Revenue INA0009 Interpretation of Sections BG1 and GB1 of the Income Tax Act 2004 (2004). 15 Ibid. 12

13 While this flowchart is based on the wording of the legislation as contained in the Income Tax Act 2004 ( the ITA 2004 ), it remains applicable as there were no intended changes to the anti-avoidance provisions when the ITA 2007 was introduced. 13

14 From the analysis of the statutory framework it can be seen that the process of identifying an offending arrangement and countering the tax advantage obtained involves the five following steps: 1. Determining the arrangement and its scope; 2. Determining whether the arrangement has tax avoidance for at least one of its purposes or effects; 3. Determining that the tax avoidance purpose or effect is more than merely incidental 4. Determining Parliament s intention in regard to the specific provisions applied to the arrangement 5. Reconstruction of the arrangement to counter the tax advantage obtained. 14

15 VI. The History of Tax Avoidance in New Zealand But how did New Zealand arrive at the current statutory framework for tax avoidance that is currently being applied? Outlined below is a brief summary of the journey and an analysis of some of the leading New Zealand tax avoidance cases that have influenced the interpretation of the anti-avoidance provisions. Anti-avoidance legislation has been in play in New Zealand since the introduction of section 62 of the Land Tax Act Given the nature of the legislation when it was enacted its primary focus was on arrangements that attempted to circumvent the imposition of land tax. The Land and Income Tax Assessment Act 1891 enabled arrangements that attempted to avoid the imposition of income tax to also to be targeted. A further rewrite of the anti-avoidance provisions introduced section 162 of the Land and Income Tax Assessment Act 1916 which remained in place, relatively unchanged, until the introduction of section 99 of the ITA The first tax avoidance case to be decided in favour of the Commissioner of Inland Revenue was Elmiger 16. As will be discussed later in this paper, this case became the basis by which the current line of tax avoidance cases were to be determined. Therefore it is necessary to undertake an in-depth analysis of the case as this will form part of the basis for determining whether the current line of cases are correctly applying the antiavoidance provisions as intended by Parliament. a. Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 17 Elmiger 18 was the first case in New Zealand that applied any form of the anti-avoidance legislation in favour of the Commissioner of Inland Revenue. The decision from this case was based on section 108 of the Land and Income Tax 1954 ( the LITA 1954 ) which stated that: 16 Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n Ibid. 18 Ibid. 15

16 Every contract, agreement or arrangement made or entered into, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be absolutely void so far as, directly or indirectly, it has or purports to have the purpose or effect of in any way altering the incidence of income tax, or relieving any person from his liability to pay income tax. i. Facts On 12 November 1962 two brothers involved in an agricultural contracting partnership established a trust that was settled by their father for 10. The beneficiaries of the trust were the wives and children of the brothers. When the trust was to cease on 31 March 1968 all capital was to revert back to the brothers. On 28 November 1962 the partnership sold two earth moving machines to the trust for 5,250 by way of an interest free loan. The machines were then leased back to the partnership for 3 and 2/hr or a minimum monthly charge of 250 and 175 respectively. All outgoings in relation to the operation of the machines were to be borne by the partnership. The agreements commenced on 1 December Hire charges for the next four months totalled 3,355. This amount was not paid by the partnership, but was instead offset against the loan owing by the trust. It was found that for the income year ended 31 March 1964 the partnership generated a loss of 100. As a result the partners in their capacities as trustees decided to reduce the hire fee charged. Accordingly the charge was reduced by 3,500 to 4,300 for the year. Of this amount 1,895 was applied as a set off against the remaining loan balance. 1,460 was then treated as an interest free loan from the trust to the partnership. The balance of approximately 950 was applied to various payments for the trust. No evidence was supplied to support the nature of the payments made. The end result from this is that for the sixteen months in question the appellants retained a sum of 6,710 from the hire charges, via the trust, and were able to claim a deduction of 7,655 against the business income of the partnership. 16

17 ii. Analysis When arriving at his judgment Woodhouse J placed heavy reliance upon the decision of Newton 19. From the ruling delivered by Lord Denning in that case Woodhouse J determined that it was necessary to analyse the following elements to determine whether the taxpayer had entered into a tax avoidance arrangement: 1. The arrangement entered into by the parties 2. Whether a tax advantage was obtained. 3. The purpose or effect of the arrangement When defining the term arrangement reference was made to the definition contained in the Newton 20 case. From this definition of the term arrangement one can see that it is necessary to look to the effect of the arrangement in order to determine the extent of the arrangement and all of its constituent parts. As the definition of arrangement contained in Newton 21 could catch arrangements outside the scope of anything ever contemplated by Parliament, Lord Denning, in Newton 22, introduced what is now known as the Newton Predication Test where it was stated that: In order to bring the arrangement within the section you must be able to predicate by looking at the overt acts by which it was implemented that it was implemented in that particular way to avoid tax. If you cannot so predicate, but have to acknowledge that the transactions are capable of explanation by reference to ordinary business or family dealing, without necessarily being labelled as a means to avoid tax, then the arrangement does not come within the section. Woodhouse J 23 concluded that for an arrangement to be a tax avoidance arrangement it was necessary to show that the income tax advantage was one of the actuating purposes of the transaction under scrutiny or review. This meant that the tax avoidance purpose only need to be more than merely incidental, rather than the 19 Newton v Federal Commissioners of Taxation, above n Ibid. 21 Ibid, at Newton v Federal Commissioners of Taxation, above n 7, at Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n 1, at

18 dominant purpose for the existence of the arrangement as required by the Australian legislation 24. If the arrangement was explainable by reference to ordinary family or business dealings and the tax effect of the arrangement was not pursued as a goal in itself then the arrangement could not be held as being a tax avoidance arrangement. In terms of the tax benefit arising from the arrangement the partners put forward the argument that section 108 of the LITA 1954 could only apply to income that had been derived. In this case the partners had not derived the income in question. Rather, this income was derived by the trust and it was the trust that was subject to the income tax liability. With reference back to the Newton 25 case, Woodhouse J 26 recognised that the Australian judiciary had identified the subtle differences in the words to relieve, referring to an existing tax liability and avoid, referring to a future liability for tax, enabling different outcomes to be achieved depending upon which subsection of the anti- avoidance provision was being applied. Woodhouse J 27 could not agree with this analysis as he concluded: In my opinion the two limbs of the section are looking to the future, and I think it is in this sense that they should be construed. Its whole purpose appears to be to effect a general proscription of schemes which would have the affect of diverting potentially taxable income outside the ordinary 24 Section 260 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 INCOME TAX ASSESSMENT ACT SECT 260 Contracts to evade tax void (1) Every contract, agreement, or arrangement made or entered into, orally or in writing, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, shall so far as it has or purports to have the purpose or effect of in any way, directly or indirectly: (a) altering the incidence of any income tax; (b) relieving any person from liability to pay any income tax or make any return; (c) defeating, evading, or avoiding any duty or liability imposed on any person by this Act; or (d) preventing the operation of this Act in any respect; be absolutely void, as against the Commissioner, or in regard to any proceeding under this Act, but without prejudice to such validity as it may have in any other respect or for any other purpose. (2) This section does not apply to any contract, agreement or arrangement made or entered into after 27 May Newton v Federal Commissioners of Taxation, above n Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n 1, at Ibid.. 18

19 operation of the Act and thus preventing a liability for tax on that income from coming into existence.... As was said by Lord Denning in the Newton case on this basis the words would be deprived of any effect because no one can displace a liability to tax which has already accrued due or in respect of income which has already been derived. To that end Woodhouse J defined the arrangement as involving the following steps: 1. The establishment of the trust. 2. The sale of the machinery to the trust 3. An agreement by which the partnership would hire the machinery from the trust It was further held that the arrangement was one of tax avoidance as it characteristics could not be explained by ordinary family dealings 28. This was because the amounts paid in hire charges remained in the hands of the partners in the form of either a capital receipt or a loan and in due course the capital of the trust would revert back to the individual partners. It was therefore determined that the income tax purpose of the arrangement completely overrode any family reasons for entering into the arrangement. As a result it was determined that the partners had derived a tax benefit from the arrangement because that had shifted income into the trust, via hire payments, that would have otherwise been assessable in the hands of the partners. b. After Elmiger With the introduction of the ITA 1976 a greater level of certainty was given to the application of the anti-avoidance provisions contained within the act. In 1974 section 108 of the LITA 1954 was rewritten to become section 99 of the ITA Although the wording of the section had completely changed Dr A. M. Findlay, in the New Zealand Parliamentary Debates 29, stated that while the section had been in existence for 28 Ibid, at Findlay, A. M. (1974). Land and Income Tax Amendment Bill (No 2). New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, 393, 4191 at 4,

20 quite some time its objective remained the same, with that objective being written into legislation as agreements purporting to alter incidence of taxation to be void. The reality was that section 108 of the LITA 1954 was rewritten to provide greater certainty as to the types of transactions that would be caught by the anti-avoidance provisions and to restore the power of Elmiger 30. Dr. A. M. Findlay emphasised this point when he stated that 31 : If people choose to avoid their income tax by disposing of their income in a way that is totally different from the normal pattern of ordinary folks spending, then I believe it is proper that it should treated as it really is as a device to avoid bearing their share of the cost of running the community. The courts ought to be armed, as they have been on the example of Elmiger, to strike down, and I am very much in favour of restoring the authority of Elmiger and perfecting the drafting lacuna to which attention was drawn by the Privy Council in Peate s case. This was considered necessary as the Privy Council in Mangin v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 32 adopted an approach, where tax avoidance was required to be the sole or principal purpose of the arrangement. It can be seen from the current wording of the legislation that has been worded in order to align itself with the decision of Elmiger 33. Take the definition of the term arrangement as an example. As previously mentioned the term is defined in section YA 1 of the ITA 2007 as being... an agreement, contract, plan, or understanding, whether enforceable or unenforceable, including all steps and transactions by which it is carried into effect. While not copied word for word, this definition clearly has its origins based in the case of Newton 34 that Woodhouse J followed in Elmiger 35. From this one can identify that the legislation follows the mandate put forward by Dr. A. M. Findlay 36 upon the introduction of the ITA Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n Findlay, A. M. (1974). Land and Income Tax Amendment Bill (No 2). New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, 393, 4191 at 4, Mangin v Commissioner of Inland Revenue [1971] NZLR 591 (PC) [Mangin]. 33 Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n Newton v Federal Commissioners of Taxation, above n Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n Above at

21 In 1990 the Commissioner of Inland Revenue released a policy statement 37 on section 99 of the ITA The statement referred to the cases of Newton 38 and Challenge Corporation 39 and made general mention of cases heard during the 1960 s to aid in the interpretation of section 99 of the ITA The policy statement outlined the following four steps that required analysis before section 99 could be applied: 1. The scheme and purpose of the Act and the specific section in question; 2. The arrangement to determine its purpose or effect; 3. That it can be inferred that tax avoidance is one of the purposes of the arrangement, being a more than merely incidental purpose; 4. The arrangement frustrates the scheme and purpose of the Act. Section BG1 of the Income Tax Act 1994 ( the ITA 1994 ) replaced section 99 of the ITA In 2004 Inland Revenue released an exposure draft on relation to the interpretation of sections BG1 and GB1 of the ITA To date a final version of this document has never been released. Inland Revenue has not expressed a reason as to why a final version has not been published. While the Income Tax legislation has gone through three reincarnations since the implementation of the ITA 1976, the general anti-avoidance legislation contained in section BG1 of the ITA 2007 has remained relatively unchanged. Given the lack of change in the general anti-avoidance provisions since the introduction of section 99 of the ITA 1976 chapter VII of this paper will analyse four of the recent high profile tax avoidance cases to determine whether the legislation is being correctly applied in light of the promulgation by Dr Findlay in the New Zealand Parliamentary Debates 41 that the analysis contained in the case of Elmiger 42 is the correct approach to be followed when determining whether an arrangement entered into by a taxpayer can be subject to the anti-avoidance provisions. 37 Tax Information Bulletin, Vol 1 No. 8 February 1990, Appendix C. 38 Newton v Federal Commissioners of Taxation, above n Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Challenge Corporation Limited [1986] 2 NZLR 513 (PC). 40 Inland Revenue INA0009 Interpretation of Sections BG1 and GB1 of the Income Tax Act 2004 (2004). 41 Miller, above n Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n 1. 21

22 c. Judicial History Although it is clear that the current wording of the anti-avoidance provisions are based on the judgment of Elmiger 43, to fully understand the basis behind how the current line of tax avoidance cases, starting with Ben Nevis 44, have been decided it is necessary to look at the judicial history of the anti-avoidance provisions post Elmiger 45. This analysis will look to the key issues raised in these cases that have helped shape and influence the judiciary s interpretation of the anti-avoidance provisions. i. Mangin v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 46 Mangin 47 involved the taxpayer restructuring his farming business via a trust to lease 25 of 385 acres of the farm for a rent of 3 per acre, with the farmer being employed and paid accordingly by the trust for his services. Via a separate trust deed the income arising from the cultivation of the wheat was to be held for the benefit of the farmer s wife and children. The following year resulted in a transaction of a similar nature being implemented. This involved 24 acres being leased to the trust for 4 an acre. Again the farmer was employed by the trust to cultivate wheat on the land and to account for the net proceeds to the trustees. The farmer, just like in the previous year was remunerated for his services, with the net income from the trust being distributed for the benefit of the wife and children. These two transactions resulted in part of what would have otherwise have been the farmer s income being distributed to his wife and children. This thereby enabled further allowances to be claimed and for the tax on the assessable income to be charged at a much reduced rate. 43 Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n Ben Nevis Forestry Ventures Ltd v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n Elmiger and Another v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n Mangin v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n Ibid. 22

23 In this judgment further exploration of the term tax avoidance was undertaken by their Lordships in order to determine the types of transactions that would be caught by the legislation. Their Lordships ultimately determined that 48 : The taxpayer, considering the provisions of fiscal legislation, may discern that by entering into some arrangement he can so distribute the legal incidence of tax upon his income that he himself will pay less. In other words the economic incidence is altered. In their Lordships' view this is what is contemplated by sec This meant that arrangements enabling a tax benefit to be obtained without the taxpayer having to incur the economic cost of that benefit could potentially be treated as void by the Commissioner. Their Lordships went on to further qualify the operation of section 108 of the LITA 1954 by analysing a quote of Lord Denning, in Newton 49, where he stated that introduced what is now known as the Newton Predication Test. From this their Lordships concluded that it was necessary to show that tax avoidance be the principal purpose or effect of the arrangement when they stated that 50 : The clue to Lord Denning's meaning lies in the words ``without necessarily being labelled as a means to avoid tax''. Neither of the examples above given could justly be so labelled. Their Lordships think that what this phrase refers to is, to adopt the language of Turner J. in the present case `a scheme... devised for the sole purpose, or at least the principal purpose, of bringing it about that this taxpayer should escape liability on tax for a substantial part of the income which, without it, he would have derived.. This had the effect of limiting the scope of the transactions to which the anti-avoidance provisions could be applied. 48 Ibid, at Newton v Federal Commissioners of Taxation, above n 7, at Mangin v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n 32, at

24 ii. Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Europa Oil (N.Z.) Ltd 51 The taxpayer was in the business of marketing petroleum products and had a supply contract with Caltex which was due to expire on 1 December During the renewal negotiations with Caltex the taxpayer was unable to secure concessions as to the price paid for the product. The taxpayer then turned to Gulf Oil Corporation to secure their supplies. The pricing structure adopted by the oil industry was based on posted prices, being the market price for bulk supplies. Discounts were not granted on those posted prices, but other inducements were offered. Gulf Oil Corporation had difficulties in providing any inducements due to supply agreements it had with another company. The taxpayer eventually obtained some concessions that led to the parties entering into an agreement. Three contracts were entered into; all dated 3 April 1956, being The Products Contract, The Affreightment Contract and The Organisation Contract. The Products Contract was made with a subsidiary of Gulf Oil Corporation for a period of 10 years, whereby the subsidiary would supply the entire product required by the taxpayer at the posted price. Under The Affreightment Contract a reduced freight cost was obtained. The Organisation Contract required the incorporation of a company in the Bahama Islands, Pan Eastern Refining Co. Limited, with each party to hold an equal shareholding. The shareholding was not held direct, but by subsidiaries instead. A subsequent agreement, being The Processing Contract, was entered into between Gulf Oil Corporation and Pan Eastern Refining Co. Limited. The contract required that Pan Eastern Refining Co. Limited purchase, at posted prices, sufficient oil in order to produce the necessary gasoline under The Products Contract. Gulf Oil Corporation proceed the oil for a fee payable by Pan Eastern Refining Co. Limited. The agreement was achieved by book entries in the accounts of Pan Eastern Refining Co. Limited. These entries recorded payments of approximately 5c per gallon of gasoline purchased by the taxpayer, that could vary based on the price of crude oil and gasoline. 51 Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Europa Oil (N.Z.) Ltd 70 ATC 6,012 (PC) [Europa Oil]. 24

25 The result of these agreements was that, while the taxpayer did not receive a direct discount on the purchase price of the product, it was, via a subsidiary, entitled half the profits derived by Pan Eastern Refining Co. Limited. IRC v Duke of Westminster 52 established that when determining the tax liability of a person it was necessary to look to the form of the contracts executed in order to determine that liability. One was not entitled to look to the economic substance of the contracts executed in order to determine that liability. Europa Oil 53 departed from this approach as it would have required each of the contracts be viewed in isolation, preventing the legal form by which the concession was obtained to be determined. iii. Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Challenge Corporation Limited 54 In 1977 the Securitibank Group of companies was placed in liquidation. On advice from an external accountant it decided to sell one of the subsidiaries that had significant losses of $5 million. Due to the uncertainty as to the treatment of the loss advise was sought from Inland Revenue. The proposal put forward to Inland Revenue was that the share capital of the company would be increased by $5 million before 31 March Another shareholder of the company and member of the Securitibank Group, Merbank Corporation Limited would acquire those shares. The company would then repay the debt owing to Merbank Corporation Limited. The loss that would have arisen to Merbank Corporation Limited, as a bad debt, would now be available to the taxpayer. Inland Revenue confirmed that the loss would be deductible. A document dated 28 February 1978 recorded this agreement. The agreement stated that the company owed Merbank Corporation Limited $5.8 million, with the share 52 IRC v Duke of Westminster (1935) 19 T.C Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Europa Oil (NZ.) Ltd, above n Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Challenge Corporation Limited, above n

26 capital to be increased by the same amount, and Merbank Corporation Limited acquiring those shares. Shares owned by a minority would be on-sold to the taxpayer. On settlement $10,000 was payable, plus a further sum of 22.5%, being half the tax rate, on the tax loss attributable to the company. The agreement also required that interest be paid on the tax benefits obtained. In this case their Lordships introduced a concept of tax mitigation when they stated that 55 : Income tax is mitigated by a taxpayer who reduces his income or incurs expenditure in circumstances which reduce his assessable income or entitle him to reduction in his tax liability. Section 99 does not apply to tax mitigation because the taxpayer's tax advantage is not derived from an arrangement but from the reduction of income which he accepts or the expenditure which he incurs. This concept had no previous judicial support as it had never been raised before. By comparison tax avoidance was shown to be 56 : In an arrangement of tax avoidance the financial position of the taxpayer is unaffected (save for the costs of devising and implementing the arrangement) and by the arrangement the taxpayer seeks to obtain a tax advantage without suffering that reduction in income, loss or expenditure which other taxpayers suffer and which Parliament intended to be suffered by any taxpayer qualifying for a reduction in his liability to tax. The distinction that their Lordships were trying to make was that in circumstances where a legitimate obligation was incurred that the anti-avoidance provisions could not be invoked. This was a reinforcement of the form over substance doctrine. In addition their Lordships noted that it was not appropriate to limit the application of the anti-avoidance provisions just because the specific provision contained an antiavoidance element of its own Ibid, at Ibid,at Ibid, at

27 iv. O Neil & Ors v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 58 This case involved the implementation of a scheme where the profits of trading companies were converted into capital receipts in the hands of the shareholders. This particular implementation of the scheme involved the shareholders of three profitable companies selling their shares to a company controlled by their accountant. The consideration for the transaction was determined on the basis of the expected net profits for the next four years. Consideration was given by way of a mortgage over the shares. By a declaration of trust the original shareholders held the shares on trust for the accountant s company. Under the agreements executed every six months the profitable companies were required to pay an administration and consultancy fee to the purchasing company. Via the grouping rules the administration income was offset against other losses. Of the funds received by the purchaser 77.5% were returned to the original shareholders as payment against the loans. At the end of the scheme the shareholders had the right to repurchase the shares for a nominal amount that covered the debts of the company and provided a return to the accountant, or to buy a release of the option for an amount that would enable the scheme to be restarted. In their decision their Lordships agreed with the reasoning of Baragwanath J in the High Court when they stated that 59 :...the distinction between tax mitigation and tax avoidance is unhelpful: as the judge pithily said, it describes a conclusion rather than providing a signpost to it... To view it any other way would have limited the scope and application of the antiavoidance provisions as arrangements giving rise to real obligations would have been excluded. 58 O Neil & Ors v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n O Neil & Ors v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n 11, at 17,

28 In going against the decision of Challenge Corporation 60 their Lordships placed emphasis upon the operation of the choice doctrine to determine when it is appropriate to apply the anti-avoidance provisions as Lord Hoffmann stated that 61 : On the other hand, the adoption of a course of action which avoids tax should not fall within s 99 if the legislation, upon its true construction, was intended to give the taxpayer the choice of avoiding it in that way. As a result of this judgment the choice doctrine has now become a fourth element that must be considered in light of any potential tax avoidance arrangement. v. Commissioner of Inland Revenue v BNZ Investments Limited 62 BNZ Investments Limited ( BNZI ) was a subsidiary of the Bank of New Zealand Limited ( BNZ ), fully funded by external debt, and entered into nine complex transactions, of four different varieties, involving redeemable preference ( RPS ) shares that were provided by Capital Markets Limited ( CML ). The funds from the RPS were invested in overseas bank and although interest was earned it was ultimately returned to BNZI as an exempt dividend. The rate of the dividend was determined so that BNZI and CML would share the tax benefits. The scheme was comprised of two elements known as upstream and downstream. For the purposes of this paper one example of the upstream and downstream transaction will be addressed. The upstream transactions involved four steps, with the first step being the borrowing of funds by which to capitalise BNZI. The second step involved the incorporation of BNZI by BNZ. With the receipt of the funds the third step involved a deposit by BNZI with BNZ. In the fourth step BNZI would invest in RPS issued by CML via borrowings guaranteed by a third party and a mortgage of securities. The return to BNZ was agreed to and set as a dividend rate. The downstream transactions involved inter-entity investments with the final entity investing the funds in an overseas bank. To make this investment funds from a New 60 Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Challenge Corporation Limited, above n O Neil & Ors v Commissioner Of Inland Revenue, above n 11 at 17, Commissioner of Inland Revenue v BNZ Investments Limited [2002] 1 NZLR 450 (CA), [BNZI]. 28

29 Zealand resident company, a Hong Kong company and an entity resident in the Cook Islands tax haven were applied. This entity earned interest income that was received tax free from the investment. The interest was then flowed back through the structure and paid to BNZI as an exempt dividend due section 63(2) of the ITA The result of this judgment was to significantly reduce the scope of arrangements to which the anti-avoidance provisions could be applied as it required there to be a meeting of minds, and it could not be shown that BNZI had knowledge of the wider downstream tax avoidance arrangement. On this point Richardson P said 63 at p 465: In short, an arrangement involves a consensus, a meeting of minds between parties involving an expectation on the part of each that the other will act in a particular way. The descending order of the terms contract, agreement, plan or understanding suggests that there are descending degrees of enforceability, so that a contract is ordinarily but not necessarily legally enforceable, as is perhaps an agreement, while a plan or understanding may often not be legally enforceable. The essential thread is mutuality as to content. The meeting of minds embodies an expectation as to future conduct. There is consensus as to what is to be done. vi. Peterson v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 64 This case involves an individual who, via a special partnership invested in two feature films as part of syndicate. The funding for the films was represented as a formula of $x+y by their Lordships. $x represented funds that were required to be provided by the syndicate from their own resources, while $y represented a non-recourse loan obtained from a company associated with the production company. $y was more than half of the total investment and also represented an amount by which the production costs were inflated. As $y was not required by the production company it was immediately transferred across to the lender when received. From these investments the syndicate gained the right to licence and market the films. As a result the syndicate was entitled to depreciate this cost over a two year period. According to the prospectus for every $1,000 invested a deduction of $1,150 could be claimed. 63 Ibid, Peterson v Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2006] 3 NZLR 433 (PC) [Peterson]. 29

30 This judgment had the effect of expanding the scope of arrangements to which the antiavoidance provisions could be applied and overturned the requirement to have a meeting of minds as promulgated in BNZ Investments 65 as Lord Millett stated 66 : Their Lordships are satisfied that the arrangement which the Commissioner has identified had the purpose or effect of reducing the investors liability to tax and that, whether or not they were parties to the arrangement or the relevant part or parts of it, they were affected by it. Their Lordships do not consider that the arrangement requires a consensus or meeting of minds; the taxpayer need not be a party to the arrangement and in their view he need not be privy to its details either. What this meant was that a person only needs to derive a tax benefit from a tax avoidance arrangement in order to be caught. It was not necessary for the Commissioner to show that the taxpayer had knowledge as to the nature of the arrangement being entered into, or for that matter the existence of the arrangement at all. In the circumstances the taxpayer incurred real expenditure and had not mitigated this obligation so was entitled to claim the depreciation deduction. 65 Commissioner of Inland Revenue v BNZ Investments Limited, above n Peterson v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n 64, at

31 VII. Recent Tax Avoidance Cases Although New Zealand has what appears to be a well-established and robust framework by which to analyse potential tax avoidance arrangements, one has to consider whether that framework is being correctly applied and whether there are any weaknesses in that framework, especially given that the recent line of cases are being predominantly decided in favour of the Commissioner. To that extent an analysis of four recent major tax avoidance cases will be undertaken, with the emphasis being placed on Westpac as it is seen by many as the leading tax avoidance case in New Zealand as it has had a chance to consolidate the judicial findings in relation to the application of the anti-avoidance provisions that came out of the decision of Ben Nevis 67. a. Ben Nevis Forestry Ventures Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue 68 The appellants in this case were nine loss-attributing qualifying companies that had invested in a Douglas Fir Forestry project as part of a syndicate known as the Southern Lakes Joint Venture as part of what is known as the Trinity Scheme. The project was due to be harvested by The project was established in 1997 when three subsidiaries of Trinity Foundation Limited acquired title to the land upon which the forest was to be planted. The ultimate owner of the land was to be the Trinity Foundation Charitable Trust by virtue of its ownership of Trinity Foundation Limited. It was the land owned by one of the subsidiaries (Trinity Foundation (Services No 3) Limited)) that was the subject of this dispute. Southern Lakes Forestry Limited was established to act as an agent for the syndicate. 67 Ben Nevis Forestry Ventures Ltd v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, above n Ibid. 31